


Twenty Dollars from Smallville

by CatalinaKachie



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: AU, Gen, Preview, brief mention of suicidal ideation, fic excerpt, the author has messed with timelines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 18:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14062980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatalinaKachie/pseuds/CatalinaKachie
Summary: Dick's doing his best as Batman, but he's falling apart. Tim has been missing for most of the year, and it's weighing on him. But Dick shouldn't underestimate his little brother's ability to surprise him...





	Twenty Dollars from Smallville

Dick was dozing against the keyboard in the bunker when the alert went off. He groaned, trying to resume his almost-nap. How the hell had Bruce managed all of Gotham on his own? Even with Damian and Steph’s help, Dick felt like shit. Dog shit. Dog shit stuck to someone’s fancy shoe in the worst of a summer heatwave. _Melting_ dog shit.

He almost sobbed when the alert pinged again. What was it now? Barbara had promised to only alert him during daylight hours if there was an emergency. Damian had taken some serious damage last night, bad enough for Dick to send him home and continue patrol on his own. He hadn’t gotten back until just before sunrise, and had immediately collapsed as soon as he got into the bunker, barely even pulling the cowl off. He had eventually dragged himself to the computer, meaning to do some data entry, honest, but the night had caught up with him. He wasn’t a nine year old in pixie boots anymore, as his back and knees would confirm. The cowl was heavy, in every sense of the word. Atlas himself hadn’t had as heavy a load as this. He might never shake the raccoon look.

And, God, speaking of metaphorical weights, he missed his favorite pair of raccoon eyes. Jason may have been in Arkham, which was the shithole to end all shitholes, but at least Dick knew where he was. Tim and Cass had been missing for most of the year, and Dick was worried sick. Cass could take care of herself, of that he was sure. If she was really in trouble, his little sister would call Babs or come home on her own. He may have wanted her back under his wing (heh), but he wasn’t worried about Cass’ ability to keep herself safe.

Tim was another story. With Bruce’s death so shortly after Conner’s, and the loss of his parents just barely past, Dick was terrified that his second-littlest brother had done something rash. The last time the two of them had spoken face to face, Tim had insisted that Bruce was alive, begging Dick to believe him and help. It broke Dick’s heart to refuse him. Tim was under so much stress, and overwhelmed with grief. He obviously needed help. He had given Robin to Damian without a fight! Robin was everything to Tim!

 _Maybe not everything_ , Dick thought to himself. Tim’s face at Conner Kent’s funeral flashed unbidden in his mind’s eye. Dick had never seen Tim look so defeated, so miserable, so—Dick ached just thinking this— _empty_. Gossip spread fast in the tights game, and everyone who was anyone knew about Robin and Superboy. And then, so soon after, the news from the JLA that Bruce had… Dick had honestly considered putting his babybird on suicide watch. He was so, so scared that Tim would do something drastic. He should have known that he couldn’t predict Tim Drake, though. Declaring that Bruce was still alive and running off to find him was drastic, alright.

But he hadn’t heard from Tim in almost eight months. Dick had used every single contact he had to see if anyone had a clue where Tim was, but came up empty-handed each time. It was like Tim had just disappeared from the Earth. They couldn’t exactly officially declare Tim missing, though. That would necessitate Hush making public appearances and talking to people, which was just too much of a risk. On top of that, there was a chance having missing posters scattered around would send Tim further into hiding, or let someone—like the League of Assassins—know a Bat was compromised and unaccounted for. As much as Dick hated it, their only option was to wait until Tim contacted them on his own.

On the third alert ping, Dick actually did cry, just a little. What the hell was so important that it could interrupt the only sleep he had gotten in almost forty-eight hours? Grudgingly admitting to himself that further sleep was a lost cause, he cracked his eyes open, blinking several times as he tried to focus his eyes on the monitor.

Suddenly (to his conscious brain), he realized what was so different about this alert. It wasn’t the standard mini-klaxon of a major crime, or the slightly musical Justice League message tone. This was the sound of a program Dick hadn’t used in a while, meant to track certain bank accounts and monitor all activity. It came in handy when tracking some criminals, as well as letting Bruce supervise the younger kids’ spending habits (and prevent Damian from buying swords on Amazon). Dick pulled himself up, much more awake now. What the hell had they been monitoring to set that off? There hadn’t been a case requiring that particular program in at least three months. Had Barbara added something and forgot to tell him?

Dick blinked, unsure if he was still dreaming. He read over the information again, wide awake now, as a feeling of disbelieving joy spread through him, a massive grin splitting his chapped lips.

_Financial Activity Alert: Timothy Jackson Drake Wayne. Type: ATM Withdrawal. Location: Smallville, Kansas. Amount: $20 USD._  


Timmy had finally contacted them.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is part of a very long, very complicated AU, in which I have messed with timelines and canon as I see fit. This bit is a short excerpt of a section in the middle, where we switch to Dick's perspective for a moment. 
> 
> What was Tim doing in Smallville? Where has he been for the past few months? Those questions and more will be answered in the main story~
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful and amazing beta reader, Sara. She doesn't do Batman, but she puts up with my nonsense (she also gave me the title).
> 
> When will the main story be posted? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm in college, life is crazy, and I have sooo much research to do for this fic. I'll try to write more as soon as I can! And as soon as I figure out how to add indents in html...


End file.
